Spandau Ballet – The Band Tony Hadley, the eldest son of Josephine and Patrick, was born at The Royal Free Hospital, Islington, London on 2 June 1960. Tony attended Dame Alice Owen’s Grammar School and thought his future lay in medicine but, after winning a holiday singing competition, decided that his vocation was as a singer … the rest is history … SPANDAU BALLET – THE 80s PHENOMENON Pioneers of the 80s Romantic movement, Spandau Ballet formed in 1978 and had numerous chart topping singles and albums all over the world, some of the most memorable being the singles “Gold”, “Only When You Leave”, “Lifeline”, the epic “Through the Barricades” and of course the international number one “True”; the latter famously sampled by PM Dawn in 1991 and featured on Paul Anka’s Rock Swings in 2005. As lead singer of Spandau Ballet, Tony Hadley has, over the years, earned the accolade of being one of pop music’s greatest vocalists.

In addition to all the band’s songs, many will remember his prominent vocal contribution to the Band Aid UK charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas” and subsequent 1985 London appearance at Live Aid. He also performed solo at the Nelson Mandela Concert at Wembley in June 1988. A LIFE IN MUSIC Turning the page on Spandau Ballet (after they disbanded in 1990), Tony has stuck to the same raw instincts that brought him early success. Tony is now a solo artist in his own right who has spent the past twenty years entertaining audiences all over the world with his stunning rich voice that has lost none of it’s power. He has continued to write and record, and to date has released four solo studio albums; ‘State of Play’ on EMI Records, two albums through Universal Records, a self-titled album in 1998, and ‘True Ballads’ in 2003. In 2006, on his own label, Slipstream Records, he released his long-awaited swing album ‘Passing Strangers’. He has also released three live albums, two live DVDs and has had European success with several dance music collaborations.

On the live music front Tony is a regular performer, delighting audiences at home and abroad with such events as the ‘Night Of The Proms’ in Holland & Belgium, orchestral tours of Europe and South America, as well as on his own UK & European solo tours. In 2005 Tony’s contribution to the music industry was officially recognised with the award of a Gold Badge from the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. Subsequently, in 2007 he won a new legion of fans following his critically acclaimed performance as Billy Flynn in Chicago on the London’s West End Stage. Tony’s appearances in the show gave the musical one of its most successful runs ever and earned him an invitation to perform in the 10th Anniversary Show last year. BOYS ON TOUR As well as the conventional shows Tony has played some extremely unusual venues for British, NATO and UN Troops on active service in Bosnia, Kosovo, Kuwait, Cyprus, the Falkland Islands and Northern Ireland. From aircraft hangers & tank workshops to bombed-out theatres & derelict sports halls to name but a few Tony felt it was a real honour to give something back and be asked to entertain our troops.

A PASSION FOR SWING Aside from his own live band, Tony also has a passion for ‘Swing’; Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Jack Jones being just a few of his personal favourites and has performed with some of the greatest jazz orchestras in Europe, including London, Holland, Italy and Spain. In 2006 Tony released his long-awaited swing album ‘Passing Strangers. It was a personal project that had been months in the planning and truly reflects his passion for swing. The album features some of his favourite songs and was released to coincide with Tony’s first UK Swing tour, aptly-named ‘Swinging True’. TV, RADIO AND PUBLISHING Tony’s talents as an artist extend beyond the stage and in recent years his profile has increased dramatically in the UK. His participation in the UK reality TV show ‘Reborn In The USA’, which saw him travelling across The US in a tour bus with eight other British artists, eventually won him the public vote and the overall “crown”. He also became a successful Radio DJ at Virgin Radio (now Absolute Radio), bringing his own brand of chat and music to the national airwaves every Friday & Saturday night.

Tony left Virgin in October 2008 and is now planning his own radio show to be syndicated around the world. In May 2004 Macmillan Books released Tony’s autobiography ‘To Cut A Long Story Short’. The book charted Tony’s youth, his early days in the school band, and the heady heights of worldwide super stardom as lead singer of Spandau Ballet. The book was a popular success entering the Sunday Times Top Ten bestsellers chart. CHARITABLE WORK Tony likes to donate time to support charitable causes. As patron of Shooting Star Children’s Hospice he has worked and performed annually at their fund raising events and, alongside his great friend and drummer from Spandau Ballet John Keeble, they won £64,000 on British TV’s cult quiz programme Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

Tony also has a major involvement with Action Medical Research, participating in their treks to Machu Picchu, The Lost World (Venezuela) and last year the Eden Trek, trekking from the Pacific to Caribbean coasts in Costa Rica, resulting in a huge sum of money being raised for the charity’s “Touching Tiny Lives” campaign, looking at research into and help for premature birth. Each Autumn, Tony hosts his own celebrity golf day to raise money for this charity. Tony is also a Patron of The Lowe Syndrome Trust and bibic (British Institute for Brain Injured Children), and supports Huntington’s Disease Association, Willow Foundation, NSPCC and the Rhys Daniels’ Trust. THE ENTREPENEUR Aside from his life in the music industry, Tony has other business interests. Since 2006 as co-owner of the Red Rat Craft Brewery in Suffolk, he has become a brewer, supplying ales & stouts to Jimmy’s Farm, Threshers, Sainsburys, House Of Fraser, and to various regiments of the armed forces including The Royal Anglian Regiment, The 7th Armoured Brigade ‘Desert Rats’, The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, and 1 Squadron RAF Regiment.

Tony also has his own-brand of award-winning ales, including Hadley’s Golden Ale, Hadley’s Crazy Dog Stout, and later this year will launch Hadley’s Gold and Hadley’s SB. He is also involved in the set up of a new satellite TV channel, featuring programmes on music, beer & sport with a light-hearted emphasis. THE FAMILY LIFE As father of four children, Tony likes to keep fit and keep up with the kids!! He regularly runs and exercises. He loves his annual ski holiday and savours scuba and water skiing in the summer. One of his biggest passions is football – he’s a regular at all the Arsenal matches – and plays for Arsenal ex-Professional and Celebrity XI team whenever he can. His speciality is the “own goal”! WHAT’S NEXT 2009 sees the reformation of Spandau Ballet with all the original members. With UK Arena Show dates this Autumn, the tour will celebrate the band’s greatest hits and lead singer Tony will once again capture audiences with his distinct style and powerful voice.

Stowe House - Tony Hadley, the legendary lead singer of Spandau Ballet Stowe House Tony Hadley, the legendary lead singer of Spandau Ballet Friday 27 May, 6pm Location: South Front Marquee Gates open 6.00pm, Support Acts 7.15pm, Tony Hadley 8.30pm As lead singer of Spandau Ballet, Tony Hadley has, over the years, earned the accolade of being one of pop music’s greatest vocalists. His voice is recognised around the world, his band ushered in a period of new romantics that would dominate music globally for a decade and is still iconic today. Spandau Ballet were the Eighties In Crowd’s band. They were the Bowie Kids, Blitz Kids, white soul boys and global superstars who brought us True and Gold. Tony Hadley has since had a successful solo recording career, starred as Billy Flynn in the West End production of Chicago and many of the younger generation will know him from ITV’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here.

This is a one off event not to be missed, the legendary voice of Spandau Ballet, Tony Hadley singing some of the best songs of the eighties: the new romantic amidst the old romance of the beautiful grounds of the Stowe Mansion House. Duration: 2 hours including support act Booking Number: 01432 355416 or Picnics can be pre-ordered or you may bring your own. A bar will be available. A limited number of VIP packages are also available. For further information please contact Chance Organisation: 020 7376 5995 info@chanceorganisation.co.uk or click here . Tony Hadley - Biography - IMDb Tony Hadley Biography Showing all 34 items Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (2) | Trade Mark (2) | Trivia (13) | Personal Quotes (13) Overview (3) 6' 4" (1.93 m) Mini Bio (1) Tony Hadley was born in Islington on 2nd June 1960.

He went to school with his future bandmates Gary Kemp, John Keeble, Steve Norman, Richard Miller and Martin Kemp. In 1978 the Makers where formed. Hadley became the lead singer of that group. When Richard Miller left on bass he was replaced by Martin Kemp. Then in 1979 the Makers were renamed Spandau Ballet. Spandau Ballet achieved major success in the 1980's with hits such as To Cut A Long Story Short (1980), Chant No.1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On) (1981), True (1983), Only When You Leave (1984) and Through The Barricades (1986). The band were together until 1990, when each member pursued acting careers and other musical directions. In 1992 Tony Hadley signed a solo deal, but unfortunately would never live up to the success he had achieved with Spandau in the '80's. In 1999 Tony, John Keeble and Steve Norman lost a £1,000,000 royalty battle with Gary Kemp.

For many years Tony did not speak to Gary, but by 2008 they had made up their differences, and then in 2009 Spandau Ballet finally reformed, and went on a world tour. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Richard Baker Spouse (2) Powerful, smooth and soulful voice Trivia (13) Was the lead singer and synthesizer player of Spandau Ballet. Has 3 children with his ex-wife, Leonie Lawson: Sons, Thomas Hadley (born 1989) and MacKenzie Hadley (born 1992), and daughter, Toni Hadley (born 1996). Hadley's band, Spandau Ballet, had one UK number one single, 'True', which topped the chart for four weeks in 1983. He has performed with the SAS ( Spike Edney 's All Stars) Band. He was a member of Band Aid (1984). Winner of "Reborn in the USA", beating Michelle Gayle in the final in London, UK.

[April 2003] His favorite albums are "A Night at the Opera" by Queen , "Give 'Em Enough Rope" by The Clash , "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John , "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" by David Bowie , "Abandoned Luncheonette" by Daryl Hall and John Oates and "Songs for Swingin' Lovers!" by Frank Sinatra . Has a daughter, Zara Katie Hadley (born December 21, 2006), with his wife, Alison Evers. He considers "Through the Barricades" to be Spandau Ballet's best song. DJ on the UK's Virgin Radio playing from 7pm to 10pm on a Friday night for the UK's Party Classics show. [November 2007] Competing in the TV talent contest "Reborn in the USA" [March 2003] Nickname Tony 'foghorn' Hadley. Is an active & devoted supporter of the conservative party.

Personal Quotes (13) To be a pop star you've got to want it so badly that there will be nights where you'll just sob in bed over the disappointment. I always loved Duran Duran. Especially after what's happened with Spandau Ballet since, I wish I had joined them in the first place. For me, everything about being a singer was about rebellion. The idea was to shock the establishment - you didn't want your parents to like the same music as you. That would have been a nightmare! I don't really care what people think any more. I do whatever I want to do now and I have the freedom to do it. I have been shafted again and again and I have learned the hard way with a lot of heartache and a lot of financial cost, too. In the beginning, my grandad refused to sit on the same carriage as me on the train, and I quite liked that really. That was what it was all about. But even by 1983 it was all coming to an end. We wore nice clothes and people were hoping I would marry their daughters. I was touring Australia with Spandau Ballet and heard that Queen were playing at a big open-air festival in New Zealand.

I flew over and got invited to the sound check. It was very Spinal Tap - a crazy entourage and different colored Smarties all separated out in dishes. Freddie Mercury asked if I wanted a drink. We ended up polishing off a bottle of Stolichnaya at the bar. Then he said he had a bottle of port in his room. "Darling," he said as we finished the port, "you must come on stage tonight. Do you know Jailhouse Rock?" Neither of us could remember the words. At the concert I stood at the side of the stage watching Freddie, the consummate frontman. And Brian May , off on those guitar solos. They were my heroes from childhood. Then Freddie flounced across to me and hissed: "Hadley, you bastard, I'm pissed." Then we did Jailhouse Rock. We made up the words. It was brilliant. Ecstatic. One of those nights you never forget. [on Spandau's hits] They've stood the test of time, which is good. [on Spandau Ballet songs] They're quite grand. They're quite luvvie, really, aren't they? I'm a frustrated drummer.

I'm always trying to get on top of the drum kit but I'm not very good. [on the 1980s] It was a very defining decade. If you look, the politics, the economics, the music, I mean, you know, really identifiable bands, and also Live Aid (1985), so that was a kind of focal point as well. But also, bands got loads of TV exposure, we were doing TV all the time and we were around for ten years. And even when we had a dip in records, unlike today where they'd drop you, that's it, sorry, you're unsigned, they would stick with you so you did have some kind of longevity as a musician. And also, some of the songs were really naff but a lot of them were really good. Just because I'm a Tory supporter doesn't mean to say I agree with every single thing that they do. [on his relationship with the reformed Spandau Ballet ] I feel it's a bit like Phil Collins and Genesis , where we'll come together and then do our thing for a while. Now, we'll write new album and then tour again in a couple of years.

Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley on the curse of being a heartthrob: 'We were mobbed everywhere we went' - Mirror Online Celebs Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley on the curse of being a heartthrob: 'We were mobbed everywhere we went' The singer says that at the height of his fame the only way he could trust himself to stay faithful to his first wife Leonie was to go on benders. Share Spandau Ballet in 1983 (Photo: Getty Images) Share Get celebs updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email Eighties heartthrob Tony ­Hadley had so many offers from besotted fans he would drink himself into oblivion to resist the temptation of sleeping with them. The Spandau Ballet singer says that at the height of his fame the only way he could trust himself to stay faithful to his first wife Leonie was to go on benders. “There were always so many beautiful women throwing themselves at us,” he says. “One time we had 40 models in our hotel suite – someone had called an agency and invited them along.

“We were mobbed everywhere we went and it was tough to resist all that temptation, so the best thing to do was get so p***** I couldn’t have done anything anyway.” He tells how at the time he had a young family and wanted to “uphold certain standards”. Tony’s marriage to Leonie, mum of his three oldest children, eventually broke up – but he says he never strayed during the band’s heyday. Now happily married to PR girl Alison Evers, the 53-year-old pop legend has two more children, Zara, six, and Genevieve, 17 months. Despite having been in the business for 30 years now, he reveals how he is still faced with endless temptation. “Charity ladies days are wild,” he says, laughing. “Me and Davina McCall both support Action Medical Research and during events we’re on the top table. “It’s like a wedding except all the other tables are full of 250 housewives who like to lunch. Tony Hadley (Photo: EMMA CATTELL) “They start off very demurely and they’re all dressed to the nines. But then all of a sudden the wine starts flowing and the volume levels become unbelievable.

They’ve been known to raid the stage when I start singing. “No one’s ever actually given me their keys, but I have had women say, ‘How about it?’ It’s definitely not my idea of fun.” But while Tony has never enjoyed that aspect of rock ’n’ roll life, he does admit he wasn’t a total saint. “I went over the edge when I was in the band,” he says. “I did a lot of crazy things when I’d been drinking. One time, in a hotel, I tried to jump off one balcony to another balcony and the guys had to catch me as I was about to leap off. I’d have died if I’d jumped. “Another time I jumped, drunk of course, on to a ­moving sports car and rolled across the bonnet and dented it. “I’m lucky the guy didn’t shoot me.” He says he did manage to resist drugs though, adding: “I’ve been offered them loads of times but I’ve never touched them. I’m fascinated by what makes people want to take drugs. “When you see someone snorting a line off a toilet seat, it’s gross.

And I don’t get how you can tie a band around your arm and inject yourself.” With fellow bandmates Gary and Martin Kemp, Steve Norman and John Keeble, Tony had 23 hit singles, including True, Gold and Through The Barricades. Spandau Ballet sold 20 million albums worldwide. But the band split acrimoniously in 1990 and a huge battle over songwriting royalties ended up in the High Court in 1999. Tony and the Kemp brothers didn’t speak to each other for a decade. The band eventually reunited in 2009. “Twenty years of harbouring grudges, and 10 of not even talking was weird,” says Tony. “Looking back I wish we’d never let it get to that stage. We were just 16 when we got together, and as you get older you become less confrontational. If I had my time again, I’d have handled things ­differently.” The first time round for the band, Tony would get bras and knickers thrown at him. Now he says it’s red roses and, ­bizarrely, cookies.

“I said once I liked chocolate chip cookies and now I get full packets of them thrown at me on stage,” he reveals. “I wish I’d said it was Cartier watches. “Fans used to write love letters to me, but I haven’t had any marriage ­proposals.” That’s just as well or Ali might have had something to say about it. “She keeps me in line,” he laughs. “And having children at my age keeps me young. Zara is bouncing off the walls and full of energy, and Genevieve is on the go from the minute she wakes up. “When I met Ali I was torn about whether I wanted more kids or not, but then you fall in love and it happens and it’s great. Having five children is like, ‘Wow’.” Being a dad to young kids at his age puts him in the perfect position to comment on Simon Cowell’s impending fatherhood. “Simon is a great guy and will be a fantastic dad,” he says. “He’s the same age as me, and he’ll have plenty of energy. With wife, Ali (Photo: Getty) “I’ve met Simon a few times through the charity work he does, and he’s great with kids. Zara loves him.

“He has a fantastic rapport with children. “People say 53 is too old to be a dad, but I don’t think so. It’s the input you have that counts, and you’re more experienced and worldly-wise.” With plans to release a new solo album in the autumn and tour dates lined up for October, Tony still finds time to be a hands-on dad. He admits things were different when his older kids – Tom, 29, Toni, 26, and Mackenzie, 22 – were little. “I’m around a lot more now because I’ve stopped doing the block tours I did with Spandau,” he says. “Although when the album comes out I’m going to be promoting that and I’ll be in Australia and New Zealand. “But generally I have a lot more quality home time as I’m not going off for months and months. I want to appreciate every moment with the kids now as they’re only young for a finite amount of time.” Tony’s fans these days aren’t the hysterical teens they once were. “The majority of my fans are 30-plus,” he says. “But I have some who are in their late 60s.

“On the other side, I also get kids who are 17 or 18 who are into the whole 80s thing and like tracks like Gold. “The reaction was incredible after it was played at the Olympics last year, but even I was sick to death of it in the end.” Tony has made no secret of the fact that he’s a big fan himself of One Direction. “They should take advantage of the money, fame and girls, and fill their boots,” he says. While he admits that watching Harry Styles and co makes him nostalgic, he says he is happier now than he was back in the early days of his career. “Life has come good for me,” he says. “I have a beautiful family and a great career, and I’m actually earning more now than I was in the 80s. “When I’m asked, ‘Do you have any regrets?’ I always say, ‘No, I don’t have any’.” Tony will be hosting and playing in the Tony Hadley Golf Classic in aid of Action Medical Research on August 30 at the Elton Furze Golf Club, Peterborough.

For details, go to action.org.uk/tonyhadley Like us on Facebook Most Read Most Recent Most Read Most Recent Steve Strange funeral: Boy George and Spandau brothers carry coffin - BBC News BBC News Steve Strange funeral: Boy George and Spandau brothers carry coffin 12 March 2015 Close share panel Media captionSteve Strange, born Steven Harrington, died last month aged 55 Boy George and Spandau Ballet brothers Martin and Gary Kemp have carried the coffin of Visage singer Steve Strange at his funeral in Porthcawl. Other celebrities to descend on the seaside town for the service included Tony Hadley and bandmate Steve Norman and hairdresser Nicky Clarke. Visage's big hit Fade To Grey played as Strange's coffin was taken into church. Strange, born Steven Harrington in Newbridge, Caerphilly county, died last month aged 55. More than 300 fans and mourners gathered outside All Saints Church to listen to the service, which was broadcast on loudspeakers. A jazz band played "I'm the King of the Swingers" as it lead the hearse to the church.

Following the funeral, a wake was held at the town's the Hi-Tide Inn where members of Visage were expected to perform with invited guests paying their own tributes. Media captionSteve Strange: Death marks end of era, says Tony Hadley Tony Hadley said Strange's death marked the end of an era. "He was a lovely, lovely guy," he said. Martin Fry, frontman of 80s band ABC, said Strange had been a long time friend. "Steve had an incredible sense of humour. I miss him, I miss him already," he said.

"It's a sad day but a chance to pay my respects to a guy I hope will be remembered for a long time." Jayce Lewis, a friend of the the singer, said: "The family have decided that the funeral should be a celebration of Steve's life and the funeral will be open to the public." Image copyright Athena Pictures Image caption Boy George, right, and Spandau Ballet's Martin Kemp were pallbearers at the funeral Image copyright Wales News Service Image caption Boy George, left, and Spandau Ballet's Gary Kemp carry the coffin Image caption The coffin is carried into the church Image copyright Athena Pictures Image caption Spandau Ballet singer Tony Hadley attended the funeral Image caption A jazz band marched and played in front of the hearse Image caption The funeral of Steve Strange is taking place in All Saints Church, Porthcawl Image caption A wreath at the funeral service for Steve Strange Image caption Mourners gather in the church Image caption The guest list for Steve Strange's funeral Image copyright Athena Pictures Image caption The coffin is carried from the church at the end of the service Image copyright Athena Pictures Image caption The hearse carrying Steve Strange's coffin is applauded as it leaves from the church Image copyright PA Image caption The Welsh pop singer found fame in

 the 1980s as frontman for the band Visage Gold - Tony Hadley Lead Singer of Spandau Ballet Live in Hong Kong - YouTube Gold - Tony Hadley Lead Singer of Spandau Ballet Live in Hong Kong Want to watch this again later?

Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Sep 29, 2014 Tony Hadley Lead Singer of Spandau Ballet Live in Hong Kong Category Tony Hadley - Mirror TV Tony Hadley Tony Hadley is a singer/songwriter and rose to fame in the 80s as the lead singer of Spandau Ballet. He is well known for his suave image and is a contestant on I'm a Celebrity 2015. Spandau Ballet: 'To Cut A Long Story Short, we nearly lost our minds...' | Daily Mail Online comments Spandau Ballet had it all – monster hits, screaming girls, ludicrous hair and kilts. Then they spent 20 years fighting over cash.

It wasn’t until one of them nearly died, the Old Romantics tell Event, that they made peace GOLD: Spandau Ballet in New York, 1981 (from left) Tony Hadley, Steve Norman, Martin Kemp, John Keeble and Gary Kemp Five young men stand, holding up the New York traffic, their legs apart, their buccaneer boots purposefully poised, the world at their feet. ‘Soul Boys Of The Western World’, proclaims the film poster proudly. Spandau Ballet – the band of New Romantic brothers that broke a million hearts, sold 25 million albums, topped the charts in 21 countries, had five million radio plays, were Bob Geldof’s ‘must get’ band at Live Aid, the designer pop group who disintegrated bitterly then reunited triumphantly – are back. And this time they’ve made a movie. The bitter-sweet biopic tells the Spandau Ballet story from childhood poverty to chilled-out prosperity via a rancorous dispute and 20 years of hostilities – a rollercoaster ride of flamboyant success, conspicuous consumption, recrimination and reconciliation. Spandau fans will swoon at the previously unseen material.

Even non-Spandauphiles will find the classroom-to-courtoom drama gripping. It comes to life in 1979 – the winter of discontent and discotheque – where you can all but smell the sweat and cigarette smoke in the clubs that Spandau and their Blitz Kids friends frequented. At the movie’s emotional climax, many years later, you feel the tension between the estranged friends as they reconvene, a decade after their 1999 High Court royalty dispute. Spandau’s singer Tony Hadley, drummer John Keeble and saxophonist/percussionist Steve Norman unsuccessfully sued guitarist and chief songwriter Gary Kemp. His brother Martin, the band’s bassist and one-time EastEnders actor, took no part in the proceedings.

Now, in 2014, with Spandau back in business, Culture Club returning to the recording studio and Duran Duran recording with Chic's Nile Rodgers, we could be witnessing the Eighties powder puff wars all over again Prior to the hearing, the three complainants had performed as a live group under the name ‘Hadley, Norman & Keeble’ until they were prevented from using an ‘ex-Spandau Ballet’ suffix by the Kemps, who felt it wasn’t in keeping with their legacy. Such simmering anxieties were painful for the key players to relive as they viewed the finished film for the first time together earlier this year. Most affected was Martin Kemp, torn between family and band loyalties. ‘Watching the film was one of the most emotional experiences of my life,’ says Kemp, the band’s youngest member. ‘There was a part of me that was really disappointed with myself. Not understanding how much it was hurting the other guys. I was too wrapped up in what I was doing.’ ‘Watching it together was difficult,’ says Gary. ‘There were parts where you wanted the chair to swallow you up.

'I was to blame for the band’s destruction at one point but was also at the forefront of trying to make it work again. But all of us progress hopefully.’ ‘There are also loved ones in the film who are no longer with us; that was probably hardest,’ says Tony Hadley sadly. The Kemps lost their parents within days of each other in 2009. It’s a film about friendship, its frailties and the power of redemptive love. The soundtrack is sensational. Angular conga-driven white funk, all snaking synth lines, driving guitar and crisply metronomic drumming pulses through the story like a heartbeat. Martin Kemp and Tony Hadley performing on HMS Belfast, 1980 Soul Boys documents a thrilling time in the history of youth culture. The New Romantics are often lampooned – hairdos only came in extra-large, make-up was applied by spray-gun and trousers sometimes needed shoulder pads – but for a few years at the fag-end of the Seventies, they were the fabulous future.

Now, in 2014, with Spandau back in business, Culture Club returning to the recording studio and Duran Duran recording with Chic’s Nile Rodgers, we could be witnessing the Eighties powder puff wars all over again. At the central London office in which he has chosen to meet on this August afternoon, Gary Kemp studies a photo of Mick Jagger taken in Hyde Park last year. ‘I was there,’ Kemp says, with reverence. You imagine that as a minor member of the rock aristocracy himself, he must say this quite often. Gary’s Bloomsbury residence is a mere Rolling Stone’s throw away. Within its exquisitely decorated walls sits his prized Steinway grand piano, a collection of Victorian antiques, including pieces by EW Godwin, and an extensive range of bespoke Savile Row suits. Three days previously, Martin Kemp is in his own Hertfordshire homestead admiring a picture of the Stones, this time a painting by guitarist Ronnie Wood. ‘Nice brushwork,’ decides Spandau Ballet’s bass player. In a Fitzrovia pub, earlier that week, John Keeble and Steve Norman have the giggles. ‘You had your hair cut again?’ Norman smirks.

Keeble’s raised middle finger gives a straight answer. With his deadpan humour and graveside baritone, Keeble is the band’s mediator, diffuser of fisticuffs and safe pair of hands. It is interesting to learn that if he hadn’t become a rock star, he wanted to be England wicketkeeper. These days, Norman, still fine-featured and fascinated by all around him, has the naive air of a medieval minstrel. It is easy to forget that, in his day, his cheeky grin could single-handedly ignite sexually charged hysteria. The two are charming and slightly salty company. ‘Should I get out the Slammer?’ asks Keeble. ‘God no,’ winces Norman. The Slammer is Spandau’s flight-case-housed tequila shot kit, which has tamed many a wild party animal. These days, although Spandau still enjoy a drink, as Keeble acknowledges, ‘we’re not all quite as thirsty as we were’, so the Slammer may remain sensibly shut.

During their ten years in the top flight of British pop, Spandau Ballet's music was often overshadowed by their image ‘Tequila is the one drink that doesn’t agree with me,’ says Hadley, calling from his Buckinghamshire base 48 hours later. ‘Jack Daniel’s was always dangerous too – when Jack came out there was normally a disaster lurking.’ With that, the big man they call The Velvet Foghorn is off: recounting his high jinks on Spandau’s notoriously eventful world jaunts. ‘On tour I was well behaved: I had to look after my voice and get enough sleep, but if we had a couple of days off I’d go mental. ‘I was very drunk in Rome and there was a car coming down a back street towards us – it was only going 15mph but I did a Starsky and Hutch roll over the bonnet. I was laughing so much until the guy got out of the car and pulled a gun on me. 'Luckily, we had the head of Italian anti-terrorism with us who pulled out his gun, and his badge.’ ‘I was quite drunk at Bob Geldof’s wedding too.

I fell onto a table of Bob’s aunties and uncles, who weren’t impressed. Think I got told off, probably by Simon Le Bon, doing his public schoolboy bit.’ Like The Beatles and the Stones, Blur and Oasis, Spandau’s rivalry with Duran Duran was fraught. Class, musical credentials, street cred and the cut of your sarong were all questioned in the heat of battle. ‘The fans hated each other,’ says Norman. ‘They’d tear lumps off each other. We don’t see that level of commitment any more thankfully.’ The bands are friends now, sometimes sharing a stage or covering each other’s material in concert, the coiffured conflicts all moisturiser under the bridge. ‘We still look cooler though,’ sniffs John Keeble. During their ten years in the top flight of British pop, Spandau Ballet’s music was often overshadowed by their image. Critics were less keen to discuss their songs than their linen jock straps, designer man-blouses and the long leather coat Tony Hadley wore at Live Aid. ‘What a bloody idiot,’ says Hadley. ‘Double-thickness leather because it had a contrasting leather on the inside.

A silly garment for a boiling hot day.’ At Bob Geldof and Paula Yates' 1986 wedding with other stars from the time. Back row, from left: Johnnie Fingers, Garry Roberts, Tony Hadley, John Taylor, Simon le Bon, Martin Kemp, George Michael, Gary Kemp, Simon Crowe, Steve Norman, Aled Jones. Seated, from left, Midge Ure, John Keeble and David Bowie ‘We totally believed in anything we wore,’ claims Martin, often credited with the band’s controversial ‘Grecian toga’ look. Today, dressed down in a T-shirt and jeans, he adds: ‘It wasn’t just dressing up. Everything Spandau wore, no matter how ridiculous you think it looks now, at the time was taken seriously. I don’t regret one thing we wore. Not a single… kilt!’ Martin Kemp, who spent four years in EastEnders as the combustible sex symbol Steve Owen, is currently filming Age Of Kill, in which he plays an ex-SAS soldier blackmailed into killing six people in as many hours. Did he ever feel like doing something similar during his time with Spandau Ballet?

‘I’ve come pretty close,’ he chuckles. ‘But those boys are the closest thing I have to family. ‘They are my family. To spend time and share stories with those men is indescribable. 'In acting, you have very transient relationships; you meet people, they’re your best friends for a while then you move on. But with a band, they’re your real mates. We’ve known each other since we were kids.’ The seeds of Spandau Ballet were sown when Keeble joined schoolmates Norman and Gary Kemp then singer Hadley in early variations of the group. Plans began to crystallise when their friend Steve Dagger became manager. The final addition was Kemp’s younger brother Martin, as bassist, though his main contribution was that he was very good-looking, an Islington Elvis. ‘Come off it,’ says the blue-eyed bass player, coyly.

‘I’ve never even thought about being “the handsome one”.’ It has been suggested that, after their trials and torments, only the death of a band member would split up Spandau Ballet, but a grim wake-up call came in 1995 when Martin Kemp was diagnosed with two brain tumours, ‘one in the middle of my brain, the size of a squashed grapefruit’. ‘Your outlook changes for a couple of years after something like that,’ says Martin. ‘It was a horrible moment of chaos for all of us. Like a car crash, it happened so fast and it was so frightening, it was almost too dark to understand. There’s still stuff up there in my brain that shouldn’t be there.’ Gary and Martin Kemp as Ronnie and Reggie Kray, with Billie Whitelaw as the twins' mum, Violet, in the 1990 film, The Krays Martin suffers from epilepsy and dyslexia as a result of the illness. ‘You can’t cut all the tumour out because it’s all connected,’ he says. ‘But if I worried all the time I wouldn’t get anything done, so you move on and try to forget about it.

Take each week as it comes.’ Fate has played a significant hand in the band’s fortunes. True transformed them from table-cloth-toting cult artists to mainstream behemoths in a matter of months. Recorded in Nassau, a golden moment captured for posterity in Soul Boys Of The Western World, the breathy love song was immediately hallmarked as a classic. When Gary Kemp first played me the song on December 28, 1982, he was still tanned from the Bahamian sun. Kemp was a cocksure motormouth even then, but was especially exuberant that day having just purchased his first property (a flat in north London for £58,000 ‘near to Sade’s place’) and invested in a thick Aran sweater that he was proudly sporting with jodhpurs and hiking boots. He was carrying a cassette of a song which he revealed had been written about an unconsummated crush on Altered Images and Gregory’s Girl starlet Clare Grogan. Later that evening, Kemp was taking the tape to Scotland in his latest attempt to woo his reluctant muse. Before he left, we listened to his new tune.

‘I was going for a blue-eyed Al Green feel,’ Kemp explained. The new formula was a winner. ‘And here we are today, five million airplays in America later,’ he says, flushing with pride. ‘Tony said he didn’t think it was a single but I always knew it was a strong song. But the day True went to Number 1, to be completely honest, I just thought, f***, now I’ve got to write another one that good! That was when the pressure started.’ But Kemp coped well and the hits kept coming: Gold, Only When You Leave, I’ll Fly For You, Highly Strung and the tremulous Through The Barricades in 1986. However, the strain of sustaining success would ultimately see Spandau Ballet facing each other in the High Court, as friends squabbled expensively over who owned what. ‘And that was not the way we wanted the band to end,’ says Keeble. ‘Spending 23 days in a f****** court.’ ‘I was pretty hacked off after the court case,’ says Hadley, who along with Keeble and Norman lost the case against Kemp and were left to pay costs of more than £1 million.

(Norman received legal aid to fight his corner.) ‘I never want to go through that again, I’m getting that churning feeling in my stomach just thinking about it, and it’s a shame it ever got to that point.’ Martin Kemp spent four years in EastEnders as the combustible sex symbol Steve Owen (pictured with his nemesis Phil Mitchell, played by Steve McFadden) Did Gary Kemp ever feel guilty? ‘Guilty, no,’ he says briskly. ‘We’re all men and we all have to take responsibility for ourselves. 'I don’t feel I owe anyone anything and I never wanted the band to get back together purely for money. The reason we’re back together is we love playing music. It’s euphoric, the music is like sex. 'It’s a bit like making love to your ex-wife. Not that I want to! My wife will kill me!’ He split amicably with first wife, actress Sadie Frost, in 1995, having had a son, Finlay. He is now married to stylist Lauren Barber, 17 years his junior, with whom he has three boys, Rex, Kit and Milo. Between them, the band have a dozen children.

‘We’re not only good at making music,’ notes Keeble, drily. Now, as the Spandau tribe prepare for the global opening of Soul Boys Of The Western World and their first live shows in four years, they return to the fray older and wiser… and greyer. Martin, in particular, has, as Norman puts it, ‘unleashed his silver fox’. ‘I’ve been wanting to do it for the last few years,’ laughs Martin, ‘but because I’ve been in front of a camera I haven’t been able to find that period to let the grey grow out. 'Then I was directing a film, on the other side of the camera, and I had that window of opportunity. I’ve been hitting the gym trying to get in shape for the Spandau tour, too. It’s got to be done, I’m 52!’ Hadley has pressing concerns about his own weight. ‘You see yourself on TV,’ he groans. ‘You’re sat on the sofa next to these super-skinny presenters and you just look so heavy. So it’s salads all the way until next year, try to shed a few pounds.

I might have to cut down on the real ale, too… sad to say.’ ‘Intra-band relations are pretty good at the moment,’ says Gary Kemp, cautiously. ‘The last tour in 2009 was amazing, like going through therapy on stage. 'There’s more respect between us now. We don’t mention the bad times, the court case – that’s a kind of a no-go area – but there’s no animosity there. 'We’re united in our aim.’ Still a Band Of Brothers then? ‘A Band Of Cousins,’ he replies, ever the diplomat. SOUL BOYS OF THE WESTERN WORLD will be in cinemas across the UK & Ireland on Tuesday 30 September including a live satellite performance from the Royal Albert Hall by Spandau Ballet. Tickets are on sale now from The film is on general release from 3 October.

Spandau Ballet 's Tony Hadley in Chicago | LondonTheatre.co.uk Home » News & Features » Theatre News » Spandau Ballet 's Tony Hadley in Chicago Spandau Ballet 's Tony Hadley in Chicago Friday, 5 January, 2007 Spandau Ballet 's Tony Hadley in Chicago Tony Hadley, fomer lead singer of 80s pop band Spandau Ballet will make his West End stage debut as ‘Billy Flynn’ in Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre from 29 Jan to 24 March 2007. Tony Hadley, who has had a singing and recording career spanning 25 years, both as the lead singer of Spandau Ballet and as a solo artist, has been a popular face on television in the past few years, including winning the long-running show “Reborn in the USA”. To accompany his latest album “Passing Strangers”, released in Autumn 2006, Tony Hadley undertook a national tour with a 17-piece big band.

The show currently stars “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?” finalist Aoife Mulholland as ‘Roxie Hart’ (to 27 Jan), Annette McLaughlin as ‘Velma Kelly’, Ian Kelsey as ‘Billy Flynn’ (to 27 Jan), Julian Sims as ‘Amos Hart’ and Brenda Edwards as ‘Mama Morton’. The London production of Chicago celebrated its ninth anniversary on 18 November 2006, when it had played 3,743 performances to an audience of over 4 million people. Chicago, opened at the Adelphi Theatre 18 Nov 1997, following previews from 27 Oct 1997, ending at the Adelphi theatre on 22 April 2006. It re-opened at the Cambridge Theatre on 28 April 2006, where it is currently taking bookings to 6 Oct 2007 Chicago, is based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, has a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb.

Scenic design is by John Lee Beatty, costume design by William Ivey Long, lighting by Ken Billington and sound by Rick Clarke. Musical supervision is by Rob Fisher and musical direction by Gareth Valentine. It is choreographed by Ann Reinking in the style of Bob Fosse and directed by Walter Bobbie. The musical concerns Roxie, a chorus girl who has murdered her lover but manages to get acquitted with the help of sleazy lawyer. West End Rumours Rumoured West End 2017 Round-Up From Fun Home to Waitress, from Next to Normal to Finding Neverland - it's always fun collating the various rumours flying around theatreland. After a very busy... Could Glenda Jackson's King Lear be West End and Broadway Bound? Following the official opening of The Old Vic's new production of King Lear starring double Academy Award-w...

Question: Who was the lead singer with Spandau Ballet ?
Answer: TONY HADLEY